Clamp for concrete form structures



Aug. 23, 193%, w. A. JENNINGS 2,127,562.

CLAMP FOR CONCRETE FORM STRUCTURES Filed June 15, 1936 Patented Aug. 23, 1938 :1 cFFIcE CLAMP FOR CQNCltETETORMSTRUGTUR-ES WilliamAllen Jennings, lje s Moines Iowa, as v signorto Economy Forms'Corpo -ation, Des

Moines, Iowa, a'corporatio'n of'Iow'a Application June 15, 193 Se la '1 claim. (01. 24 19) f In the art of making concrete structures with the use of metal forms it is at the present time the general practice to secure the metal forms to- I gether on opposite sides of the space in which the concrete is 'to be formed, an'dthen to support these metal plates by means of structural beams bolted or nailed together and supported in upright positions by suitable braces, and the operation of erecting these structural beams and connecting them together requires a considerable amount of labor, and if the structural beams are made of wood the beams are damaged and broken during repeated operations, thus causing considerable loss of material.

The object of my invention is to provide a clamp device of simple, durable and inexpensive construction and so arranged that it may be readily, quickly and easily hooked into the flanged perforated margins of adjoining mold forms, and then clamped to the horizontally arranged beams to rigidly and securely hold said parts together, and also the same clamps in slightly modified form may be used in a similar manner to clamp the upright beams to the horizontal beams without the use of bolts or nails, and whereby the structural beams may be readily, quickly and easily removed without injury so that when wooden structural beams are used they may be used indefinitely without damage or deterioration.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 shows an outer face view of two adjoining metal plates for a concrete mold structure with a horizontal structural beam extended across them and my improved clamping device in position for holding the plates to the beam.

Figure 2 shows a side elevation of a metal form plate with its perforated flanges and a horizontal structural beam against the flanges, with my improved clamping device, shown by solid lines, in clamped position. The dotted lines show the clamp in open position for convenient removal or replacement.

Figure 3 shows a horizontal sectional view taken 2 on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 shows a top View of a horizontal structural beam and a vertical structural beam with my improved clamping device in position for clamping them together; and

Figure 5 shows a detail perspective view of the several parts of my improved clamping device in disconnected position.

Referring to the accompanying drawing I have used the reference numeral [0 to indicate generally the body portion of my improved clamping evice having a .fiat under surfacedesigned to rest against" the edge of a structural beam, such, for instancqas' a'woo'den 2 'x' 4?; This body portionis' preferably formed of'cast malleable iron and has at one end a pivot pin l I'fo'rmed with a head I2 so that between the head and the body 10 there is provided an annular groove. On the opposite end of the body 10 there is a fulcrum pin I 3 extended in the opposite direction from the pin I I and having a head 14, thus forming an annular groove between the head and the body portion. This entire unit may be cast complete in one piece and without machine work.

The lever comprises a handle portion 55 preferably made of cast malleable iron and having at one end a substantially U-shaped slot Hi to receive the fulcrum pin 13, and in practice these parts are united by simply bending the projecting end I! of the lever partly around the fulcrum pin l3, as shown in Figure 4.

Formed on the lever between the handle and the fulcrum pin is a pivot pin having a head l9, thereby forming an annular groove between the body of the lever and the head I9. H

For connecting the lever and the body to the articles to be clamped together I have provided tworods 20, each having at one end a looped portion 2| to enter the annular groove in one of the pivot pins, each having at its other end a hook 22. Attention is directed to the fact that the pivot pin ll extends outwardly from the body I 0 and the fulcrum pin I3 extends in the opposite direction and that the pivot pin I 8 extends upwardly from the lever as shown in Figure 5. By this arrangement it will be seen that the two rods are in line with each other along about the longitudinal center of the body, as clearly shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, the arrangement of the construction of the lever is such that, as clearly shown in Figure 2, when the handle is at its outer limit of movement, as shown by dotted lines in said figure, the end of the plate adjacent the fulcrumecl point of the handle can be free to move outwardly a short distance relative to the structural beam, and, therefore, when the lever is in this position both of the hook rods may be quickly and readily inserted in the openings in the mould form flanges, as shown in Figure 2, then when the handle of the lever is moved to its downward position, as shown by solid lines in Figure 2, the pivotal point of the rod carried by the lever passes the. dead center or fulcrum point of the lever and, hence, when in'this position the lever will be securely locked.

In practical use with my invention a row of metal forms is placed side by side in upright position with the perforated flanges extended outwardly. Then a structural beam, such as a 2 x 4 is extended horizontally along the outer faces of the flanges. Then a clamp is placed with its body against the outer face, of the structural beam with the lever in its outwardly extended position, whereupon the hooks can be readily placed in adjacent openings of the mould form flanges, then the lever is moved downwardly past dead center and the forms are then securely clamped to the structural beam. When erecting, this is done for each horizontal row of mould forms, then when it is desired to provide upright structural beams they are placed against the outer edges of the horizontal beams and then the hooks are extended around the inner faces of the horizontal beams and the body against the outer edge of the upright beams, when the clamping is proceeded with in the same manner as before, For this purpose the rods are made slightly longer, as shown in Figure 4, than they are as shown in Figure 2. Otherwise, the structure is the same.

I have demonstrated in actual practice that a great deal of time and labor is saved by the use of my improved clamps, and, furthermore, when wooden structural beams are used they may be repeatedly re-used without injury or damage.

I claim as my invention:

A clamp for concrete form structures, comprising a body having a relatively fiat surface to rest against a structural beam, a pivot pin at one end of the body and a fulcrum pin at the other end of the body extended in diametrically opposite directions, a rod pivoted at one end to the pivot pin and having a hook at its opposite end, a lever fulcrumed at one end to the fulcrum, a pivot pin fixed to the lever between its ends, and a rod pivoted at one end to the pivot pin on the lever and having a hook at its opposite end, said parts being so shaped and proportioned that said body may be placed on one edge of a structural beam and the said rods extended across opposite sides of said beam with the hooks engaging a member to be supported by the beam and arranged at the opposite edge of the beam, for the purposes stated.

WILLIAM ALLEN JENNINGS. 

